Drill byproduct capturing device

ABSTRACT

A container assembly for retaining a drill byproduct produced when drilling into a wall, the container assembly includes a container disposed on an internal side of the wall having an internal surface and an external surface. The container assembly also includes a sleeve that is disposed about the external surface of the container, the sleeve includes one or more magnets that couple the sleeve and container to the wall and retain the drill byproduct along the internal surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/588,035, filed Nov. 17, 2017,the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

When installing electrical systems specifically connecting to panels orboxes it is common to drill a hole into the side of the box for accessto the internal components of the panel or box. There are many safetyprotocols against drilling into a box or panel while the boxer panel islive, that is having an electrical current flowing through the box. Whendrilling metal shavings can fall into components of the box that cancause a short and other damage.

The discussion above is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter.

SUMMARY

A container assembly for retaining a drill byproduct produced whendrilling into a wall, the container assembly includes a containerdisposed on an internal side of the wall having an internal surface andan external surface. The container assembly also includes a sleeve thatis disposed about the external surface of the container, the sleeveincludes one or more magnets that couple the sleeve and container to thewall and retain the drill byproduct along the internal surface.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementationsthat solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example electrical installationenvironment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one example electrical installationenvironment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing one example operation of the catchbox.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing one example of a catch box.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing one example catch box assembly.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing one example retracted catch boxassembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example electrical installationenvironment 100. Environment 100 includes an operator 102, a drill 104,and a panel 106. Panel 106 serves as an electrical junction and isconnected to a variety of wires 114 or conduit. These wires 114 carryelectricity either in or out of panel 106. Each wire 114 can represent acircuit and can have a corresponding fuse or breaker in panel 106. Whena new circuit is to be established, operator 102 drills a hole in panel106, thus allowing access for another wire 114 to internal components ofpanel 106.

As shown operator 102 is operating drill 104 to drill a hole in wall 108of panel 106. It is important that when an operator 102 is drilling ahole in wall 108, the drill and its components do not contact theelectronics 102 within panel 106. This is especially true when panel 106is live, such that there is electricity flowing through electronics 102.Additionally, when a drill is drilling through wall 108, shavings orother debris can be generated or removed. Panels 106 are generally madefrom a metal material and the shavings generated during drilling of wall108 are conductive and can cause contaminate or other problems withelectronics 102. For example, contamination may result in arc hazards,explosion or failure of the equipment. As such is important thatshavings do not fall within, and contaminate, the electronics 102.Another hazard present in the environment 100 is that when drill 104punctures through wall 108 drill 104 can penetrate through with someforce and drill 104 may contact some part of electronics 102 that caneither damaged electronics 102 or in the case where electronics 102 arelive, injure operator 102 or drill 104.

Operator 102 drills a hole in wall 108 with drill 104, in some instancesto allow a device similar to connector 112 to be inserted in wall 108and allow either a wire 114 or some other conduit can be coupled topanel 106. This of course, is only one application of the followingdescription. The following disclosed devices are not limited toelectrical applications and can be used in any wall drilling orpenetrating application where prevention of contamination of adjacentspaces and equipment is desired. Applications that require extracleanliness are especially recognized for example only, such as datacenters or areas where there is sensitive equipment, food productionfacilities, other sensitive production areas, etc.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one example electrical installationenvironment. FIG. 2 has some similar components to those described inFIG. 1 and the components are similarly numbered. In environment 200,drill 104 has a bit 105 coupled to an operating end of drill 104. Bit105 rotates to penetrate a hole in wall 108. Bit 105 as shown is a holesaw, in other examples bit 105 can be another type of bit as well. Insome examples, drill 104 is replaced with a punch or some other devicethat can puncture a hole in wall 108.

As shown, container 120 is coupled to the inside of wall 108. Container120 has an internal surface that can collect any byproduct or shavingsgenerated by bit 105 drilling through wall 108. Container 120 preventsthe shavings from encountering or contaminating electronics 110 or anyother internal surface of panel 106. This can help prevent hazards thatmay ensue if the shavings cause a short and can also make cleanupeasier. As shown, container 120 is a rectangular box, however in otherexamples, container 120 can be a different shape as well, such ascylindrical, spherical, etc. Container 120 can be either narrower orwider depending on the depth of panel 106. Container 120 can also bedeeper or shallower depending on the dimensions of panel 106 andelectronics 110.

Many panels are made out of a ferrous metal, such as steel. Accordingly,it can be beneficial to incorporate magnets on container 120 to gatherthe ferrous byproduct from the drilling process. These magnets may alsocouple container 120 to the internal surface of wall 108, in place of,or, in some examples, addition to, a clamp or other coupling device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing one example operation of the catchbox. Some of the components and environment 300 are similar to those inas environment a 200 and the components are similarly numbered.

Container 120 as shown is disposed on the internal surface of wall 108.Container 120 can be held in this position by sleeve 122 and magnets 124which as shown for example, are disposed about the external surface ofcontainer 120. In one example, wall 108 is composed, at least partially,of a ferrous metal that magnets 124 are attracted to. The magneticfield, generated by magnets 124, pulls sleeve 122 towards wall 108 andcause contact portions 134 of container 120 to be press against wall108. Frictional forces generated between contact portion 134 and wall108 keep container 120 from falling under its own weight and the weightof any shavings that it may gather. Contact portions 134 can define anopen end that is oriented towards wall 108, it is “open” meaning thatbit 105 can cut through wall 108 without contacting a solid portion ofcontainer 120. Contact portions 134 can include higher friction surfacesto help keep container 120 from sliding down wall 108 under its ownweight. Contact portions 134 can also include seals that further ensurebyproducts from the drilling process do not fall outside container 120and into the internal compartment of panel 106. Contact surface 136 ofthrough container 126 can also have similar features.

Container 120 has internal surfaces that include rear wall 140 and sidewalls 132, that capture drilling byproduct. Side walls 132 are typicallywhere byproduct is captured. This is because magnets 124 align with sidewalls 132. In some examples, magnets 124 also sit behind rear wall 140and thus byproduct can be held against rear wall 140 as well. Rear wall140 can be reinforced to prevent bit 105 from puncturing or damagingrear wall 140. In one example, reinforcing can occur just on rear wall140 and the rest of container 120 can be made of a less expensivematerial, resulting in manufacturing expense savings with minimalperformance differences. Container 120 can comprise rigid materials, forexample, aluminum, stainless steel, other metal, plastic, etc. Container120 can in addition in the alternate comprise flexible materials, forexample, silicon, rubber, plastic, bag, etc. In some examples, a bag orliner can be used inside of container 120.

Through container 126, as shown, is disposed on the external surface ofwall 108 (e.g., the side of wall 108 where the drill or other puncturingdevice is located). Through container 126 can be held in this positionagainst wall 108 by sleeve 128 and magnets 124. In one example, wall 108includes a ferrous metal that magnets 124 are attracted to. The magneticfield generated by magnets 124 pull sleeve 128 towards wall 108 andcause contact portions 136 of through container 126 to be press againstwall 108. Frictional forces generated between contact portion 136 andwall 108 keep through container 126 from following under its own weightand the weight of any shavings that it may gather. Contact portions 136can define an open end that is oriented towards wall 108, it is “open”meaning that bit 105 can access wall 108 without contacting a solidportion of container 126. Contact portions 136 can include higherfriction surfaces to help keep container 126 from sliding down wall 108under its own weight. Contact portions 136 can also include seals thatfurther ensure byproducts from the drilling process do not fall outsidecontainer 126.

Through container 126 has an internal surface including side walls 138and front wall 139 that capture drilling byproduct. Side walls 138 aretypically where byproduct is captured. This is because magnets 124 alignwith side walls 138. In some examples, magnets 124 also sit along frontwall 139 around through-hole 130. The depth of side walls 138 can bechosen to accommodate different lengths of bit 105. For example, it maybe that the depth of side walls 138 prevent bit 105 from contacting rearwall 140. For instance, assume in one example that bit 105 extends 3inches beyond the end of a drill, wall 108 is ⅛-inch-thick and rear wall140 is disposed 1 inch behind wall 108. In this example, the depth ofside wall 138 could be between 1⅞ and 2⅞ inches to allow bit 105 topenetrate wall 108 but not contact rear wall 140. In some examples,contacting rear wall 140 with too much force could uncouple container120 from wall 108.

Through-hole 130 is disposed in front wall 139 to allow drilling accessto wall 108. Through-hole 130 can be a variety of different sizes andshapes to accommodate different bits or penetrating devices. Forexample, through-hole 130 may allow for clearance of a bit butsubstantially prevent debris from exiting through-hole 130. Forinstance, bit 105 may have a 1-inch diameter and through-hole 130 mayhave a 1¼-inch diameter. In some examples, front wall 139 can bereinforced around through-hole 130 to prevent bit 105 from puncturing ordamaging front wall 139. For example, a metal or other durable materialis disposed around through-hole 130. In one example, reinforcing canoccur just occur around through-hole 130 and the rest of throughcontainer 126 can be made of a less expensive material, resulting inmanufacturing expense savings with minimal performance differences.Through container 126 can comprise rigid materials, for example, metal,plastic, etc. Through container 126 can, in addition to or in thealternate, comprise flexible materials, for example, silicon, rubber,plastic, bag, etc.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing one example of a catch box. As shown,catch box assembly 400 includes rectangular examples of sleeve 122,container 120, through container 126, sleeve 128 and magnets 124. Sleeve122 houses a plurality of different magnets 124. In one example, magnets124 are permanently embedded in sleeve 122. In another example, magnets124 are removable from sleeve 122. As shown, there are twelve magnets insleeve 122, however in other examples there may be fewer or greateramounts of magnets 124. Sleeve 122 fits over an external surface ofcontainer 120. Container 120 is disposed on an interior side of a wallthat is to be drilled. Container 120 is held against the wall by sleeve122 and magnets 124. Similarly, sleeve 128 houses a variety of magnets124 that hold through container 126 to a wall to be drilled. In oneexample, magnets 124 are aligned such that, when the assembly is notcoupled to a wall, magnets 124 will keep all pieces of the assemblytogether during non-use. Magnets 124 can be one of a variety ofdifferent types. For example, rare earth magnets, controllableelectromagnets, etc.

Through container 126 has a through-hole 130 where a drill is insertedto drill a hole in a wall. Through-hole 130 can be a variety ofdifferent sizes and shapes. As shown, through-hole 130 is a circularhole, however in other examples through-hole 130 can be a differentshape as well. For example, rectangular. As shown, sleeves 122 and 128are rings that do not fully cover containers 120 and 126. In someexamples, sleeves 122 and 128 fully encompass their respectivecontainers. In some examples sleeve 122 and sleeve 128 are not neededand magnets 124 are mounted on container 120 and through container 126.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing one example catch box assembly. Asshown, container 120 has a variety of drill byproduct 178 alongsidewalls 132 and rear wall 140. Drill byproduct 178 is held againstsidewalls 132 and/or rear wall 140 by magnets 124 within sleeve 122.Normally it would be difficult to remove this by product from magnets124, however, the catch box assembly makes disposal of byproduct 178simple, as shown in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing one example of a retracted catchbox assembly. As shown, sleeve 122 has been removed from container 120.This removal causes drill byproduct 178 to fall from container 120 asthere is no longer a magnetic force strong enough to hold the drillbyproduct 178 within container 120 (e.g., along the internal surfaces ofcontainer 120). If container 120 comprises a non-magnetic material and alow friction surface, byproduct 178 simply falls away from container 120under the force of gravity, as shown.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container assembly for retaining a drillbyproduct produced when drilling into a wall, the container assemblycomprising: a container disposed on an internal side of the wall havingan internal surface and an external surface; a sleeve that is disposedabout the external surface of the container, the sleeve comprising oneor more internal magnets that couple the sleeve and the container to thewall and retain the drill byproduct along the internal surface; a secondcontainer disposed on a second side of the wall that is opposite theinternal side of the wall, the second container comprising athrough-hole configured to allow a wall puncturing device access to thewall; and a second disposed about an external surface of the secondcontainer, the second sleeve comprising one of more magnets that couplethe second sleeve and the second container to the wall and retain aportion of the drill byproduct along an internal surface of the secondcontainer.
 2. The container assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or moreinternal magnets and external magnets are aligned such that they attractand hold the container assembly together.
 3. The container assembly ofclaim 1, wherein a portion of the second container around thethrough-hole is reinforced.
 4. The container assembly of claim 1,wherein the container and the sleeve are separate components, removablyseparable from each other.
 5. The container assembly of claim 1, whereinthe one or more internal magnets are permanently disposed in the sleeve.6. The container assembly of claim 1, wherein the container comprisesfour internal side walls and one rear wall.
 7. The container assembly ofclaim 6, wherein the one rear wall comprises a reinforcing component. 8.The container assembly of claim 1, wherein the container comprises aflexible material.
 9. The container assembly of claim 1, wherein thecontainer and the sleeve comprise a rigid material.
 10. The containerassembly of claim 1, wherein the sleeve is a ring.
 11. A method ofdrilling, a hole in a wall, the method comprising: placing a containeron an interior surface of the wall; coupling the container to theinterior surface of the wall; wherein coupling the container to theinterior surface of the wall comprises placing a magnetic sleeve onto aflange of the container such that a magnet of the magnetic sleeve isattracted to the wall and applies a coupling force on the container; anddrilling the hole with a drill bit, wherein the hole aligns with aninternal compartment of the container.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising: placing a second container on an exterior surface ofthe wall; coupling the second container to the exterior surface of thewall; and wherein coupling the second container to the exterior surfacecomprises placing a second magnetic sleeve onto a flange of the secondcontainer such that a second magnet of the second magnetic sleeve isattracted to wall.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein drilling the holecomprises inserting the drill bit through a through-bole of the secondcontainer.
 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising capturingdrill byproduct on an interior surface of the container, with themagnet.
 15. The method of claim 14, removing the magnetic sleeve fromthe container such that a drill byproduct is released from the interiorsurface of the container.
 16. A kit for drilling a hole in a wall, thiskit comprising: a container configured to be placed on a first side ofthe wall, the container comprising: an internal compartment configuredto receive drill byproduct; and an open end that aligns with the hole; asleeve configured to removably couple to a surface of the container, thesleeve comprising a magnet configured to: attract byproduct createdduring drilling of the hole; and couple the container to the first sideof the wall by applying a force on the surface of the container; asecond container configured to be placed on a second side of the wall,the second container comprising: an internal compartment configured toreceive drill byproduct; and an open end that aligns with the hole; asecond sleeve configured to removably couple to a surface of the secondcontainer, the second sleeve comprising a magnet configured to: attractbyproduct created during drilling of the hole; and couple the secondcontainer to the second side of the wall by applying a force on thesurface of the container.
 17. The kit of claim 16, a second containerhaving a through-hole configured to receive a bit prior to drilling thehole.
 18. The kit of claim 17, a second sleeve configured to fit aroundan exterior of the second container and couple the second container tothe wall.